HIV awareness campaign

HIV: The false preconceptions

As World AIDS Day approaches on 1 December campaigners and charities are urging for more people to learn about the virus.

Waverley Care, a charity which supports people with HIV, found that there are worrying gaps in the knowledge of most people about how the virus is spread.

The study found that in South Scotland almost 20% of people thought that HIV could be spread through kissing.

The most common misconceptions are that the virus can be spread through:

Kissing

Spitting

Being bitten

Contact with unbroken, healthy skin

Being sneezed on

Sharing bath, towels and cutlery

Using the same toilets and swimming pools

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

Contact with animals or insects such as mosquitoes

A lack of general HIV knowledge was also highlighted throughout Scotland with national figures showing nearly a quarter (23%) of adults are unaware that a person who is HIV positive can live for more than 20 years.